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Rare day off for Goldschmidt earns ribbing

Rare day off for Goldschmidt earns ribbing

7/1/13: Paul Goldschmidt connects on a long home run to center field, his 20th of the year, to give the D-backs a 2-0 lead in the first

By Steve Gilbert
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MLB.com |

NEW YORK -- Paul Goldschmidt rarely gets days off, and given all the grief his D-backs teammates gave him for being out of the lineup Wednesday night, he probably would have rather played.

Coming into Wednesday, Goldschmidt, who had not started two games all year and entered one of those two later on, was given the day off against Mets ace Matt Harvey. The last time Goldschmidt was not in the lineup was Game 2 of a doubleheader on May 27.

D-backs manager Kirk Gibson did not ask Goldschmidt if he wanted a day off, he simply told him that's the way it was going to be.

"He's getting an off-day," Gibson said. "I've been thinking about it, been talking about it. Just watching him and seeing some certain things. Just think it's time."

Shortstop Cliff Pennington decided to have some fun with the news, giving Goldschmidt a bottle of vitamins. The bottle's label was covered with athletic tape, and on it, Pennington wrote "Harvey-itis."